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Now, for the fun part of the Course.
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Now, for the fun part of the Course In addition to the editorials and essays at the end of Chapters 8 and 9, newspaper and magazine editorials will be used on timely issues affecting you as students. You, the student, will become accustomed to practicing critical reading skills with reading from the everyday world. You will also participate in interactive activities surrounding issues affecting you in your daily life.
Part 4 • Chapter 8 Elements of Critical Reading—Analyzing Arguments Reading Critically • Chapter 9 Problems in Critical Reading—Evaluating Arguments • Chapter 10 Practical Applications in Evaluating Arguments
Chapter 8: Elements of Critical Reading—Analyzing Arguments In this chapter, the first of three chapters dealing with reading critically, you will learn to identify and to analyze claims and evidence in arguments, building on the analytical skills developed in Parts 1, 2, and 3. The readings in Part 4 represent arguments concerning various issues and express a particular point of view; they come from newspaper and magazine editorials, letters to the editor, political speeches, cartoons, and websites.
Chapter 8 Objectives: • A definition of critical reading • The reader’s responsibilities • Developing a worldview • Analyzing the structure of arguments • Analyzing visual images
Critical Reading Defined Critical reading is the most deliberate and thorough kind of reading. It goes beyond literal and inferential comprehension. It means judging, evaluating, weighing the writer’s words carefully, and applying your reasoning powers. It requires keeping an open mind and developing a healthy skepticism, not accepting unquestioningly what you read just because it is in print, but also not rejecting ideas simply because they are different from your beliefs….
Critical Reading Defined It means judging the legitimacy of the argument, as well as its accuracy, fairness, reliability, and larger significance. It involves detecting fallacious arguments, whether from deliberate manipulation, deceptive appeals to emotion, logical fallacies (errors in reasoning), or bias. Critical reading extends to visual material and increasingly to material on the World Wide Web.
Terrorist attacks and invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq changed our perceptions about ourselves and the world’s perceptions of the United States. Globalization has produced more intertwined cultures The world seems somehow more complicated Our confidence has been undermined. Global warming Urban homelessness immigration
So much information is available today, from both traditional and electronic sources, that keeping up with the issues seems daunting. A democratic society imposes responsibility on its citizens. Being informed and safeguarding our right to question seem to be the most crucial responsibilities.
The Reader’s Responsibilities • The reader’s task = to read carefully and thoughtfully • Analyzing the writer’s use of evidence and logic The writer’s task = to be convincing and to give fair evidence in support of an argument and to adhere to the rules of logic Being lazy is the #1 cause for being a poor reader!
The Reader’s Responsibilities We may misinterpret… We may not take the trouble to read carefully We may be too lazy to look up important words. We may skim through an article or editorial instead of reading it carefully because we already know the author’s point of view or, don’t agree Being lazy is the #1 cause for being a poor reader!
The Reader’s Responsibilities We may let prejudice, bias, narrow personal experience, or parochial values interfere with a clear-headed appraisal. Critical readers try—insofar as it is humanly possible—to suspend their biases and personal prejudices so that they do not interfere with accurate comprehension.
The Reader’s Responsibilities However… the evidence might not stand up to scrutiny! Being lazy is the #1 cause for being a poor reader!
A willingness to see events from another perspective is an essential component of the intellectual experience, and it is best developed during the college years when you are exposed to a range of political, social, and philosophical ideas. Uncovering our beliefs helps us interpret both what we read and the world around us.
Developing a Worldview understanding superiority ethnocentrism It’s my way or NO way!!! Our worldview undergoes constant change as part of the educational process afforded by contact with the intellectual world and with the everyday world.
Too often, however, we are content to hang on to untested opinions because examining other viewpoints is too much trouble • Our opinions are comfortable and provide us with a ready-made set of beliefs that may be sufficient for day-to-day life experiences
To determine your worldview, begin by questioning why you think the way you do. • Becoming an independent thinker involves developing one’s own worldview upbringing
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/gallup-daily-obama-job-approval.aspxhttp://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/gallup-daily-obama-job-approval.aspx
Go to p. 289 and do Ex. 1 Bullfighting is a popular spectacle in Mexico, Latin America, and, of course, Spain, where it originated. (Bullfights also take place in the south of France and in Portugal, but in these countries the bull is not killed.) The practice is illegal in the United States, and in 2007, television stations in Spain stopped broadcasting live bullfights to protect children from seeing the violence associated with them. First, answer these questions on paper. Doing so will force you to clarify your thinking.
• What do you know/think about bullfighting? • Do you consider bullfighting to be a sport or an art form? • What is your opinion based on? Have you ever seen a bullfight on TV or in the movies? • Have you ever attended a bullfight? If so, what were your reactions? Would you attend another? Why or why not? • If your answer above was “no,” would you ever attend a bullfight? Why or why not? • Do you believe bullfighting is cruel? • Should bullfighting be banned in countries where it is legal? • Is a bull an intelligent, sensitive animal in the same way that, say, a dog is?
Now, read the two articles. The first article is by political writer Christopher Matthews, who describes a bullfight he attended in Barcelona in 1995. The second reading is by linguist Robert Lado who examines the cultural misperceptions of bullfighting.
Which, if any, of these two passages corresponds to your point of view? Compare the notes you made at the beginning of this section with your current thoughts. Did any of the material you read persuade you to alter your previously held opinion? Are we forced to change our opinion because we believe differently than others???
Two World Maps—Two Worldviews To what extent is our perception of our status in the world and our worldview influenced by its geography or by the image we have in our minds by its geographical position?
Two World Maps—Two Worldviews 2. Comment on the difference in the two maps with regard to the position of the United States in the Western Hemisphere and in the world, particularly in relation to the continents of Asia and Africa. 3. How might the second map affect one’s perception of America’s size and influence in the world? 4. Does studying the first map in any way change your worldview with regard to America’s role as the dominant superpower in world affairs?
Analyzing the Structure of Arguments The claim (also called the thesis or proposition)—the writer’s main idea or point Evidence--supports the claim A refutation, sometimes called the concession—the writer’s discussion of opposing viewpoints A conclusion, a restatement of the claim or a recommendation for future action Claim + evidence + refutation + conclusion
Analyzing the Structure of Arguments Claim + evidence + refutation > conclusion
The test of a good argument How do you judge what is worth believing? • Evaluating the writer as an authority • Identifying the type of claim • Stating the claim or argument in a sentence The writer should have some competence or expertise in the area; in other words, he or she should be considered an authority . The central claim —the argument or proposition —should be clearly stated or at least clearly implied. interpretation (like amnesty, hero, torture, censorship, civil war).
The test of a good argument • Ascertaining any unstated assumptions • Evaluating the supporting evidence Key words should be defined in clear and unambiguous language, especially abstract words open to subjective The supporting evidence should be logically organized, relevant to the main idea, and sufficient to support the claim credibly. Moreover, the discussion should appeal to our intelligence and to our reason, not solely to our emotions.
The test of a good argument • Locating the refutation, if one is present Ideally, the persuasive writer should include a refutation , also called the counterargument, in which he or she examines one or two of the opposition’s strongest arguments and disproves them.
Taking Arguments ApartWhat are the parts of an argument??? The Question of Authority Evaluating the writer as an authority When a writer establishes his credibility (or, at least, the reason for his interest in the subject), we can deem the information reliable.
Go to Ex. 2, p. 298 Some of the people cited in the exercise are authorities; some are not. Write “A” in the space if the person appears to be an authority on the particular subject. If the person appears not to be an authority, write “N.” If you are unsure, write a question mark. Try to justify each answer.
1. Larry Sabato, professor of political science at the University of Virginia and director of UVA’s Center for Politics, comments on the 2008 presidential race. His newest book is titled A More Perfect Constitution .
2. Colby Buzzell, who served in the U.S. Army for several months in Iraq, wrote a well-known blog about his experiences there: http://cbftw.blogspot.com/ . His blog postings were subsequently published in a book, My War: Killing Time in Iraq .
3. Ernie Goldthorpe, a community college English teacher, criticized America’s military presence in Iraq in a letter to the editor of the New York Times .
4. George Abraham Thampy, a twelve-year-old boy who, along with his siblings, has been home-schooled all his life, writes on the virtues of home schooling.
5. Tom Colicchio, chef-owner of three New York City restaurants—Gramercy Tavern, Craft, and ’Wichcraft—and Craftsteak in LasVegas, winner of the James Beard Best New Restaurant award in 2002, serves as the head judge on Bravo’s reality TV program Top Chef .
6. Writer of thriller novels, Michael Crichton, was trained as a medical doctor. He considers global warming an unproven theory and argues that the threat from global warming has been overstated.
7. Tom Cruise, actor and Scientology member, as a guest on Oprah , pronounced psychiatry to be a “pseudoscience” and said that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance in the brain that would require antidepressants.
8. Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI, explained the mechanical failures that caused the crash of a TWA jet off Long Island in 1997.
9. Allen Olivo, an employee at Yahoo!, who commutes daily from Half Moon Bay to Sunnyvale, California, wrote a letter to the Half Moon Bay Review with suggestions about how to improve traffic congestion during the daily commute.
10. Cynthia Tucker, an African-American journalist and editor of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution opinion page, writes about race issues in America.
